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Congratulations to my friend Cheryl Cutting for organizing a very successful screening of High Ground! Last night in Wilder, Vermont, she and her team packed the theater. Those in the audience included over 40 veterans, many of them from the local Veterans Administration hospital, and they all received a holiday gift that had been donated. In fact, the movie was such a success that they will have an encore showing on January 23rd.

Last year, the Bass Pro Shop invited Soldiers To Summits to participate in their Bagging For Tips program. In one day of volunteering, we raised over $2,000! So of course we are going to do it again.
This Friday, please join us and help bag purchases or giftwrap presents while spreading the word about S2S. There are many different shifts available, starting at 11 AM and ending at 8 PM. They're going fast, so go to this link to secure your spot!

I'm still traveling in Ecuador with my family but I wanted to give you a quick update on our Soldiers To Summits Cotopaxi expedition. This was indeed a very demanding peak attempted in very adverse conditions. Not all of us, myself included, reached the top. But standing on the summit was never what this program was all about. By any measure, this expedition was a great success!

Just a quick note to let you know that we now have REACH pendants back in stock. The response has been fantastic with over three dozen already shipped. If you are still looking for a last minute gift, we now have about a dozen available. The cost is $100 plus shipping and the pendant comes in a gift pouch and with a special card signed by me. These pendants are a fundraiser for No Barriers so I appreciate your support.
Happy Holidays!
Erik

First things first, I don't consider myself a superhero! But the people at the Carroll Center For The Blind are. They are the ones that, many years ago, set me on the path towards becoming a climber and adventurer. And in the meantime, they have helped countless others adapt to a world without eyesight.

A quick update from Ecuador: We're halfway through the Soldiers To Summits Cotopaxi expedition and things are going great! To warm up and get used to the altitude, we climbed Guagua Pichincha, a 15,500 ft active stratovolcano. This was the first chance for the soldiers to test their newly acquired skills and really appreciate how big a goal Cotopaxi will be! Unlike the practice ascents of peaks in Colorado, Pichincha required a lot of scrambling across ledges and scaling small rock faces. Now everyone is excited to tackle mighty Cotopaxi!

Wow! The reaction to the REACH pendant has been extraordinary. We have nearly sold out in just over a week. But more are on the way and will arrive in time for Christmas. This is a fundraiser for No Barriers so your purchase truly helps a great cause.
Thank you to everyone who placed an order!! The first batch will arrive soon and we will send them out soon thereafter. When your pendant arrives, please leave a comment on the original blog post telling everyone what you think!

On December 10th, I will be helping a team of injured veterans and active duty service members reach the summit of Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador (19,347 feet). This will be the culmination of their yearlong journey with Soldiers To Summits, where we use mountains as metaphor and training ground to help veterans harness adversities and step up to lead and serve others. Follow our journey on the day-by-day trip blog!

I am really excited to announce that we have a unique new product to offer as a fundraiser for No Barriers! My friend Cheryl Cutting designed this beautiful sterling silver pendant to inspire everyone to reach towards unseen possibilities. The word REACH is spelled out in the Latin alphabet on one side and Braille on the other.

The New York Times just published a great article about me! Written by Eric Olson, it gives a pretty good look at what I've been up to lately. There's even a 7+ minute video of me training at the National Whitewater Center. But dude, I really don't say "gnar" that much!